GA Guv A Friend To GA?

Guess who just might be general aviation's newest best friend? It's Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue... who says he wants to make sure there's at least one 5,000-foot long runway within 30-minutes of every person in his state.

"Air transportation is the preferred choice for business and industry decision makers in the 21st century economy," Perdue told the Gainesville Times. "Our economic development efforts will benefit greatly from accessible rural airports throughout Georgia."

To that end, Georgia is improving 49 airports statewide... spending $15-million dollars to speed up work on projects like runway extensions, new nav-aids and weather reporting stations. But Perdue wants to do even more on top of all that.

"I think it would be a huge impact to have that expanded airport," said Dale Steenburgen, president of the Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce, who is also a pilot. "Even if you're talking to a prospect that does not have a private plane, they see it as benefit because it's a transportation outlet."

Pilots say this is especially good news for some of Georgia's more rural counties... where there just aren't enough general aviation facilities to go around.

"It's an economic development tool that any community can use," said Randall Pugh, president of Jackson Electric Membership Corp., about expanding and improving airports. "I know the county and airport authority here is working all the time to improve our airport facilities here."

FMI: www.gov.state.ga.us/